Other than Butler being the Final Four, and I guess the Pacers clinging to playoff life despite a sub-.500 record, the biggest story in Hoosier State basketball right now is the possibility that Matt Painter could be eschewing West Lafayette for the vacant Missouri head coaching job.

What has been made public, however, is a letter that Purdue Sr. Associate AD Nancy Cross sent to members of the John Purdue Club in an attempt to assuage the growing frenzy of Boiler backers.

The letter – which was forwarded to me by someone at Purdue, and which is pasted in full below – indicates that, from the athletic department and university’s standpoint, everything is being done to keep Painter in West Lafayette. It also suggests, not subtlely, that had more JPC club members stepped up with donations, the current predicament never would have materialized.

Thanks for the outpouring of support for Matt Painter and for your concern for our Purdue men’s basketball program.

In an effort to allay many of your concerns and dispel much of the misinformation by “unnamed sources”, Athletics Director Morgan Burke has asked me to share with each of you that he is working diligently with President France Córdova and our Board of Trustees to ensure that Matt remains our head coach for many years to come.

Proactively they have made an investment in Matt that was communicated last evening, clearly reinforcing their continued commitment to him and to our championship program. They did not wait to counter anyone else’s offer. It is my hope that the words and actions of our President, our Board and Morgan will encourage Matt, Jerri and their family to remain with Purdue.

Personally, I have been overwhelmed with the number of e-mails pledging to join the John Purdue Club or increase support. Ironically, I believe we would not be in this situation had more than 11% of our current membership participated in the Mackey Challenge and more than 150 of our nearly 9,000 members recruited at least one new member. More of the Big Ten television revenues could have been allocated for compensation for the basketball coaching staff members and less toward the critical path of updating Mackey Arena.

As a self-supporting university auxiliary, we can spend only what we raise, so everyone’s participation will ensure that we retain Matt and provide championship-quality experiences for every single one of our Boilermaker student-athletes.

Thanks for your continued loyal support and passionate commitment….stay tuned!

For now, Purdue fans seem to be somewhat hopeful but mostly skeptical that its athletic department can or will do what is necessary to maintain their coach. Boiled Sports summed up the reaction I’ve seen on Twitter and scouring some message boards, blogs, and email threads with some Purdue folks.

For one, if Burke is indeed making this sort of an effort and attempting to let Matty know how much he means to all of us, then that’s good and I am happy Burke is doing so. Should it have gotten this far? Probably not. But all any of us can do is look forward and do what we can from this point onward. If this is accurate, that’s what Cordova and Burke are doing.

If I sound a bit skeptical, it’s because I am. There’s also the possibility that this is smoke being put out by Purdue to soften the blow they will surely receive from irritated Purdue fans and JPC members with deeper pockets than the wealthy and handsome Boilerdowd. Yes, it could be propaganda.

It appears as if judgment day is here, so we should know one way or the other soon. If Painter leaves, the Purdue athletic department is going to have a hard time explaining the last 72 hours to its own fan base.

Of course, if those miserly JPC members had just ponied up more of their hard earned money, this situation wouldn’t have happened. Right? Actually, it very well might be right. Purdue does have a fiscally responsible athletic department, though that certainly is not always conducive to winning. Still, right or wrong, there is a time and a place. Now was not the time nor the place to point out to terrified Purdue fans that it is their own financial responsibility that may lead to Matt Painter not being given what it will take to keep him.

Something tells me Nancy Cross will come to regret those words…

Update: I sent the post to a national writer I respect, and here was his response:

“She might regret it, but I kind of like it. She has 10,000 fans screaming at her, but we all know money rules the world, and at THAT level, the extra money often comes from boosters. So she’s saying: Don’t scream at us if you guys have been cheap over the years.

I say all that assuming, but not knowing, that multi-million-dollar salaries, or assistant salaries, are given a boost from the booster club.”

He makes a good point, as I figured he would. And I don’t necessarily disagree. I just think the timing is idiotic and poorly thought-out.

Comments

The John Purdue Club is a more than a "booster club", we fund the majority of Purdue sports. Please feel free to fact check this statement, but I believe we are one of two Div. 1 schools in the country that use no University or State money to fund it's sports programs.

Thanks for the note; I will check. I did not mean booster club in a pejorative sense. As you know, I spent a great deal of time in West Lafayette and pretty closely with the athletic department too. I know how important the JPC is, which is why I somewhat shocked that this letter seemed so ill-timed and flippant. Not sure on the money question though.

The laurie Family funded a majority. They are the heirs to Wal-Mart money, as Sam walton the founder of wal mart graduated from Missouri. As well as the Kroenke's, their son played at mizzou. Josh Kroenke. No tuition or tax payer money was used. Mizzou just has big boosters.

Joe, Actually the state did help fund the construction of Paige, I mean Mizzou, Arena through the sale of construction bonds. Mizzou Arena was started only after a guarantee of state funding. I believe the Laurie Family funded about half of the arena. It has only been within the last couple of years that Mizzou has been self-sufficient.

The thing that upsets me most is that the 4 million generated annually from B10 network that goes to the university general fund (off limits to athletics), which most schools use directly back to athletics, but Purdue does not. So it's OK to allocate athletic revenue to the general student population, but not to benefit (in an athletic vs. academic sense) those who generate it through their sport?

Trackbacks

[…] Wow, if Painter leaves it's the fans' fault??….must read First off, as an alumnus of Purdue, this pisses me off. I am not an active John Purdue Club member yet but my parents are and received this email this morning. Check this out….the letter is pretty colorful if you read into it. Needless to say, my parents laughed at the notion and simply said if Purdue is that upset, they'll donate $0 next year. Nancy Cross Letter to John Purdue Club – If Matt Painter Leaves, it's Purdue Fans Fault […]